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Beer Co-op in the Making in Burlington

There are beer geeks. There are co-op geeks, too. Matt Cropp could be a hybrid.

"I geek out on co-ops," said Cropp, 27, of Burlington. He writes about credit unions and is making a video about a central Vermont electric co-op.

The beer part concerns Cropp's work with Full Barrel Cooperative Brewery and Taproom, a cooperative brewery in the making. He is one of the principal organizers.

The group, comprised of about 80 volunteers, will host its first public tasting — a brew day event — Saturday at Intervale Community Farm in Burlington from 2 to 7:30 p.m.

There will be beer made by group members, with an Irish Red ale the featured brew, Cropp said. The event will include demos, meetings about the project, a book talk by Kurt Staudter, author of "Vermont Beer: History of a Brewing Revolution," and a 5 p.m. barbecue.

In a state with a rapidly growing number of breweries, Full Barrel brings something new to the craft beer enterprise, Cropp says.

"The co-op model allows for a certain level of experimentation, drawing on a deep base of participating members," Cropp said. "The structure will allow for a lot of creativity in what we produce."